Top 10 Dinosaurs (and other Mesozoic animals) that I want to see in Jurassic World

What new creatures will be in Jurassic World?

When I was growing up the Jurassic Park films made my childhood and for years I waited for a fourth installment. A few days ago the trailer was released and I must say that I am excited although a little disappointed. Not because I feel the film will be bad but because the Velociraptors and Gallimimus had no feathers but I am getting off topic. Here is a top ten list of some dinosaurs and other Mesozoic animals, (animals from the time of the dinosaurs), that have not been announced being in the film but I hope to see them in. To make the list however they have had to not appear in any of the films; although they can appear in the books the films are based on by Michael Crichton.

Number 10- Diplodocus Carnegie

One of the largest sauropods, (although far from the largest), who are the long-necked dinosaurs, Diplodocus is a well known dinosaur whose skeleton can be found in many of the world's museums from the London Natural History Museum to the New York Natural History Museum. They lived in the Late Jurassic Period from 155 to 148 million years ago, (in perspective our first ancestors came down from the trees around a million years ago). The Diplodocus is a truly interesting dinosaur with it even managing to defend itself with a long whip like tail which it could crack against a predator and possibly even break its neck. Despite how iconic the sauropod is the makers of the Jurassic Park films and Michael Crichton has always passed it up for the Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus or the Mamenchisaurus. It would be good to see a formidable sauropod that can actually physically defend itself against attack instead of using its bulk as a deterrent and I would like to see a battle between the new Diablos-Rex and a Diplodocus which I feel in real life the sauropod could win with a good hit from the whip like tail.

Number 9- Deinosuchus 

This was a genus of crocodilian, (more related to alligators than crocodiles), that lived from 80 million years ago to 73 million years ago in the Cretaceous period. Only the skull has been found, (reconstructions attach a body on so people can better get an image of scale), but paleontologists have managed to scale it to estimate the size of the animal: it was 11 m, (36 ft), long. This crocodilian actually ate dinosaurs. We can easily imagine the Deinosuchus living exactly like a crocodile except instead of eating an antelope it would eat a dinosaur. The appeal of this giant crocodilian for being in Jurassic World is obvious and with the trailer showing people canoeing on a river I can easily imagine them having to go past a cornered off area with a giant alligator lurking in the water. Deinosuchus was one of the largest crocodilians along with the Sarcosuchus of North Africa and South America so it would be a good thing to see in the new world. I chose Deinosuchus instead of Sarcosuchus for one simple reason: it would have eaten the ancestors of Tyrannosaurus.

Number 8- Kentrosaurus aethiopicus

 This was a close relative of Stegosaurus but lived in Late Jurassic, Tanzania. This placing is largely through nostalgia as Kentrosaurus was one of my favorite dinosaurs. Although smaller than its more famous cousin the Kentrosaurus is an interesting dinosaur with it not having the traditional plates on the entire body associated with a stegosaurid but instead giant spikes as shown in the picture. Kentrosaurus would swing these spikes on the tail to deter a possible predator but the side spikes would also deter predators coming from the side of the body. It is a truly unique looking dinosaur and in the video game Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis where you could build your own Jurassic Park I always had one or two living alongside Stegosaurus so with the Stegosaurus confirmed in the trailer I would like to see one in the film, (obviously with less screen time to Stegosaurus).

Number 7- Iguanodon bernissartensis

The Iguanodon was a herbivore that lived in the Early Jurassic period and could walk on both its hind legs and all four legs. However, Iguanodon is very special as it was the second dinosaur genus to be discovered and was used to describe dinosaurs in general. Iguanodon has gone through many reconstructions which represents the changing view on dinosaurs: the sluggish, lizard like creature with a horned nose with the statues in Crystal Palace in the Victorian era, to the bipedal creature dragging its tail on the ground in the early 20th century to the current reconstruction above which has been made since the 1960s showing an agile animal. Iguanodon could also defend itself if need be with it deploying a thumb spike although its main defense was running. Despite its history Iguanodon has never appeared in the books or films so hopefully Jurassic World could spell its debut in the franchise.

Number 6- Eoraptor Lunensis

 The Eoraptor was a small genus of therapods, (bipedal dinosaurs ranging from Tyrannosaurus to Gallimimus), a meter, (3.3 ft), in length. However what makes it special is that it is the oldest known dinosaur. At 231 million years old the Eoraptor is the oldest dinosaur genus, so far, and comes from Argentina during the Triassic period. Although not as spectacular as some later dinosaurs the nimble little Eoraptor would be a good edition to the Jurassic World roster. It does raise a good point about the Jurassic Park franchise. There is a lack of dinosaurs from the Triassic, (the earliest time period), in the franchise with the only one appearing in Michael Crichton's novels, the Procompsognathus. The Eoraptor would be an interesting dinosaur nevertheless to appear in the new film.

Number 5- Plesiosaurus

 The Plesiosaurus was a genus of aquatic reptiles that lived in the seas of the early Jurassic period. They were a unique group with them managing to swim at fast speeds by coordinating their flippers to speed through the water. Plesiosaurus primarily ate fish and squid which they would sneak up on using their long necks so they can get up close without disturbing their prey. At 1.8 m they were the precursors for larger sea monsters but still unique in their own way.  The Plesiosaurus has had a great lasting legacy with legends of the Loch Ness Monster and Ogopogo possibly being inspired by the Plesiosaurus. With Mosasaurus confirmed for Jurassic World the potential for aquatic animals is massive and who better to show alongside Mosasaurus than the Loch Ness Monster.

Number 4- Therizinosaurus 

The Therizinosaurus is a very bizarre therapod dinosaur. It lived in Mongolia during the late Cretaceous period 75 million years ago, alongside the real life Velociraptor. They were very bizarre with a long neck, 2.5 meter, (8 ft), long forearms and a meter long, (3.28 ft), claw on each finger. It was safe to be around though with its diet consisting of plants, which they would use their claws to strip from trees, eggs and small animals like lizards. If attacked those claws could be used against a predator including a close relative of Tyrannosaurus called Tarbosaurus, (although some paleontologists believe that Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus were the same). Therizinosaurus was covered in feathers like all therapods, including the Velociraptor and yes even the Tyrannosaurus, making it look even more strange. Although the producers have said that no feathered dinosaurs will be appearing in the film they can easily do a reconstruction of a featherless Therizinosaurus such as in Chased by Dinosaurs, the spin-off to Walking With Dinosaurs, so I think audiences would be willing to accept Therizinosaurus if Diablos-Rex is in the film.

Number 3- Quetzalcoatlus Northropi

This species of pterosaur, (not a dinosaur), lived in the Late Cretaceous in North America 65 million years ago. Although Pteranodon has been scheduled to appear seeing the Quetzalcoatlus Northropi would be a nice edition. Mainly because it was the largest thing ever evolved to fly. When they weren't flying one was the same size as a giraffe but in flight they had a staggering wingspan of 11 meters, (36 ft). It was a true giant that could actually eat dinosaurs and was top of the food chain in regards to the sky. If one appeared in Jurassic World it would definitely steal the show although its colossal size would cast a literal shadow over the film.

Number 2- Deinonychus antirrhopus

Deinonychus was a raptor that lived in the early Cretaceous and actually caused the 'dinosaur renaissance' where paleontologists started to believe that dinosaurs were fast, agile and sociable animals. Although this placing could be controversial as you could argue that technically the Velociraptors in the films are Deinonychus. When writing the first book Michael Crichton liked the name Velociraptor but its diminutive size made it a lackluster 'villain' so he took the name Velociraptor and gave it to the body of Deinonychus. With the similarity between the two he had a character say that they reclassified Deinonychus to be a Velociraptor. When Spielberg adapted the book the change came as well, (although upping the size to be more formidable). I would actually like it if Deinonychus appeared alongside the Jurassic World Velociraptors and see how the greatest recent errors in dinosaur reconstruction has occurred. Also I'm going to say this again I want them to have feathers.

Number 1- Carnotaurus sastrei 

The Carnotaurus was a dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous Argentina from 72 to 69 million years ago and was quite a robust dinosaur. It evolved to fight for dominance with members of its own species and to take quick bites out of prey to possibly make them bleed to death. It didn't have the bite strength of Tyrannosaurus and was the dominant predator after second largest carnivorous dinosaur, Giganotosaurus, had gone extinct in the area. Why did I put it number one then? When I heard about Diablos-Rex I thought it was a hybrid of Tyrannosaurus and Carnotaurus. With it being a brawler and the 'devil horns' on its head I made the assumption that this would be the other half of the hybrid. With the trailer indicating that a raptor may be the more likely candidate I still want to see Carnotaurus. It appeared in the second book with an ability to change color but I quite fancy seeing a realistic Carnotaurus. It was the main villain in Disney's Dinosaur so I am sure a good version of it can appear in Jurassic World.

Do you agree with my list? Was there any other Mesozoic animals that I should have put on it? Please leave your comments.

History in Focus: The Velvet Revolution

Vaclav Havel awaits to a non-communist Prague after 41 years of communist rule

On November 16th the Czech Republic and Slovakia celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, (the Gentle Revolution in Slovakia). After 41 years of communist oppression Czechoslovakia managed to transition from an authoritarian regime to a democracy. After 41 years Czechoslovakia had managed to shed the communist dominated system that had oppressed the people. The origins of the revolution started not in Czechoslovakia but in the USSR instead.

Gorbachev and his reforms- In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power in the USSR and started off a series of reforms: Glasnost, (Openness), and Perestroika, (Restructuring). Gorbachev started to stop the political repression of dissidents in the Soviet Union and his reforms quickly caught the attention of the Soviet Union's communist puppets in Europe; he was even nicknamed 'Gorby' in East Germany. One of these nations was Czechoslovakia who had been a virtual puppet of the Soviet Union since 1948 and later a Warsaw Pact member. In 1968 the Soviet Union even invaded Czechoslovakia to suppress the growing liberalizing of the Czechoslovakian government in what was called the Prague Spring and the person who tried to liberalize the nation, Alexander Dubcek, was ousted from power. Thanks to Gorbachev's Glasnost a blacklist on people's families who had supported the Prague Spring gradually started to lift and even on dissident poet and playwright, Vaclav Havel, managed to get a petition signed from prison to increase living standards. East Germans living in Prague surrounded the West Berlin embassy to try and get entry into West Germany and they got their wish en masse on November 9th 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. The seeds of the Velvet Revolution had been sown and would quickly germinate.

A photo of the dissident poet Vaclav Havel

The Revolution starts- Prior to 1989 there had been numerous protests against the authoritarian regime, including the Candle Demonstration in 1988. The one which started the Revolution however happened on November 16th 1989 when students marched on the eve of International Students Day in Bratislava and marched to the Slovak Ministry of Education. The army had expected this but had chose not to act; this act had allowed the Velvet Revolution to occur. The next day dissident poet Vaclav Havel led a series of protests in union with the Socialist Union of Youth, (SSM), who opposed the communist censorship. The SSM marched from the grave of noted Czech poet Karel Hynek Macha to downtown Prague. They were dispersed after riot police beat them but one member of the secret police, Ludvik Zifcak, was so overcome by emotion that he collapsed and was taken away by police. However in recent years this has been put into question. The reason for this was that a story of a student called Martin Smid had been killed and a dissident called Petr Uhl gave it to Radio Free Europe who reported that police had killed a student. This later turned out to be a hoax and Zifcak said that it was because of his collapse that this story started, (there is a conspiracy theory about it as well that I won't go into here but I will recommend reading if you are interested in conspiracy theories). Regardless of the murder of Smid being fictitious it had further increased support for reform. Dubcek even came out of forced public silence and declares support for the protesters.

Some riot police clash with protests on 17th November

 The Revolution grows in popularity- The next day Radio Free Europe and strikes from the arts colleges and theaters, (all media was still ran by the regime), spread the news of the fictitious death of Martin Smid getting widespread support for the protesters. People even jingled their keys to show their support with it signifying 'Goodbye, it's time to go home' to communists. On the 19th more theater strikes happen and the civic initiative meet with Prime Minister Ladislav Adamec and tell him that he can only resign when there were mass protests like in East Germany. This comes eerily true as Vaclav Havel and other members of dissident groups like Chapter 77 establish the Civic Forum calling for reforms and the resignation of the people who organised the violence on the 17th. The government becomes so desperate that they even stage an interview with 'Martin Smid' to convince protesters that he is alive, (rather ironic), but none believe it. The protests then start to become popular.

The statue of Saint Adalbert of Prague in anti-communist banners

  The protests increase- The Prime Minister says that no force will be used against the protesters but a few hard-liners including the General Secratary Milos Jakes orders a Peoples Militias to dispers the protests but they only gain 4000 followers and it quickly disbands. On the 24th Jakes resigns and the day after protesters number 800,000 in Prague and 100,000 in Bratislava.

The last days of the Czechoslovakian Communists- The editorial staff of the Pravda, (the then government ran paper equivalent to the New York Times in the USA or Guardian in the UK), declare their allegiance to the protesters on the 26th. The government had no where else to go. Adamec holds his first talks with Havel on the same day. From the following day to the 29th the communist grip over the people falls with with 75% of the public wanting reform. This started with the Ministry of Culture allowing anti-communist and pro-democracy books to be released and the Communist Party loses its leading role as apart of the Constitution. On December 10th President Gustav Husak swears in the first non-communist government for 41 years and resigns. The first legitimate elections takes place and Havel is elected President. The Revolution had succeeded.

Havel during the Revolution

Aftermath and legacy- In 1993 in what was nicknamed the Velvet Divorce Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in a similarly peaceful fashion. The Velvet Revolution was significant with it showing that you don't need an armed militia or army support to overthrow a corrupt government. Like in Poland and East Germany the Czechoslovakian government was changed through peace with no long lasting bitter feuds such as the violent executed of Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania or the violence which broke out in the Balkans after the collapse of Yugoslavia and the ethnic turmoils in Ukraine and the Caucuses after the fall of the USSR. The Velvet Revolution showed that through peaceful protest even authoritarian regimes can fall.

Please leave any comments and thanks for reading. Also if you live in Slovakia or the Czech Republic please give your views on the Velvet Revolution.

The Background of the Ukrainian Crisis

How did a series of riots turn into the current situation?

Since November of 2013 Ukraine has been one of the most major news events and with on November 12th with NATO Commander General Philip Breedlove saying that Russian troops have been seen crossing the Ukrainian border; something which the Russian government hotly denies. With talks of there even being a second Cold War developing it leaves us to wonder why did the situation deteriorate so quickly in Ukraine? The first signs of this can be seen in 1991. (Note: I live in the UK so only have a Western perspective of the events so if you are Russian please leave me your view). Information from the BBC and Al Jazeera.

The founding of Ukraine- The first seeds of today's problems could be seen with the formation of Ukraine in 1991. After a coup which tried to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev failed Ukraine declared independence with the wave of nationalism that spread across the USSR. Soon other nations declared their independence and the USSR collapsed. Most of the new nations drew their borders based on ethnic populations as well as their historical boundaries but Ukraine largely drew its borders on historic boundaries. From the days of Stalin trying to make Ukraine ethnically Russian there was a clear Ukrainian-Russian divide geographically in Ukraine, in the East being mostly ethnically Russian, which still lasts today. This is shown on the map below:

Map from openculture.com

In Moscow the new non-communist leaders in the ensuing years after the collapse of the Soviet Union became worried with the West isolating them somewhat with former Warsaw Pact nations like Poland and Romania joining the EU and NATO. The Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, (who were once apart of the USSR), even joined NATO which made Russia feel isolated. However in Ukraine the issue wouldn't be raised again until 2004.

The 2004 Orange Revolution

The Orange Revolution- In 2004 the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych was elected President however widespread reports of vote-rigging similar to the accusations that plagued Vladimir Putin in 2012. The opposition leader, Viktor Yushchenko, lead mass street protests in the November of that years and the color of his party, orange, became the de facto name of the protest: the Orange Revolution. Yushchenko was voted most popular in an election re-run the following month which Yanukovych challenged but resigned nevertheless, The Ukrainian independence sentiment was already being shown. In 2010 Yanukovych was elected again in a fair election which was uncontested but the following year his main rival Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was arrested for abuse of powers, (ironically for making a gas deal with Russia).

Yanukovych on the left and Putin on the right

The protests begin- By 2013 the EU and Ukraine had been building closer times and were on the verge of making an agreement to create closer trading ties which could have brought Ukraine into the EU. On November 21st 2013 Yanukovych's cabinet abandoned this agreement for closer ties with Putin. The protests start to begin with animosity against Russia and the fear that Ukraine could become too economically reliant on their former ruler. Through November and December protesters took to the streets of Kiev with the largest protest occurring on the 8th December when 80,000 people occupied Independence Square in the center of Kiev. The statue of Lenin was even tore down and pieces sold on the internet as it was 'a historic moment'. Yanukovych didn't help matters by accepting Putin's economic lifeline where he would buy $15 billion of Ukrainian debt which worried Ukrainians who felt they were becoming more of Russia's puppet. An anti-protest law was passed as anti-Yanukovych protests grew and 234 protesters were arrested; Ukraine was dangerously becoming much more authoritarian.

Independence Square descends into violence

The protests turn violent- With the anti-protest law the protests develop into riots with at least 88 being killed from the 19th to 20th February. Twenty days earlier Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned in protest of Yanukovych's actions and Parliament was forced to annul the anti-protest law. On the 20th the government started breaching human rights laws with videos showing uniformed snipers firing at protesters. The day after Yanukovych reached a compromise with opposition and on the 22nd he fled to Crimea and then Russia. On the 22nd a pro-West Parliament was formed and Yulia Tymoshenko was released from prison to which Yanukovych denounced as a 'coup'. John Kerry pledged US support to new Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and interim President Olexander Turchynov. However despite Western support the new government made a fateful error: banning Russia as a second official language. Angering the Russian section of society a virtual civil war began.

Pro-Russian troops in Crimea

Pro-Russia rises- During his rule Stalin decided to 'Russify' Crimea and today there is a large Russian population in Crimea. On February 27th pro-Russian gunmen seized Simferopol and on the 28th Sevastapol. The peninsular was under militant rule. Putin however once again showed his dark side, (apology to those in Russia who likes Putin I don't mean to offend). In an attempt to show his dominance in the region he got Russia's Parliament to allow him to use force to protect Russian interests which fanned the flames of animosity. Despite fears of persecution from the Tatar populace a vote in Crimea to secede from Ukraine took place which the West denounced as illegal. 97% of those who voted agreed to secede on March 16th and two days later Putin annexed Crimea. This is especially worrying as Putin has stated that Russia's greatest leader was Stalin and that 'worst event in history was the fall of the Soviet Union'. Fearful of Russian action elsewhere NATO and the RAF started flying test flights over the Baltic nations while Russia started to do the same in Siberia. Spurred on by the annexation of Crimea as well as support from Putin Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv saw militants seize key buildings but the government quickly recaptured Kharkiv. In May Luhansk and Donetsk declared independence in May.

Situations worsen- Across Odessa fighting claimed more lives and in May Ukraine elected a new President Petro Poroshenko. The West increased their sanctions on Russia and built closer ties with Ukraine but the greatest tragedy had yet to come.

298 innocent lives were lost in the violence

On July 17th Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile as it flew over militant controlled territory. Sadly 298 lives were lost as the aircraft was shot down. It was reportedly that the missile launcher was bought from Russia although this has been denied. Fortunately people were allowed onto the site to make sure those lives lost could be returned to their families, The US and EU issued a new wave of sanctions against Russia thanks to this but the fighting did not dissipate until September 5th when rebels and the government signed a truce and saw significant Russian withdrawal of troops from the eastern border of Ukraine. However the truce did not last long and Putin ordered thousands of troops to be stationed near the Ukrainian border and started to make gestures to NATO or to nations aligned with NATO such as sending planes near the Alaskan coasts and sending a submarine close to the Swedish coast last week, (written 14/11/2014). However tensions with the West did dissipate slightly on the 31st October when a deal was brokered with the EU and Russia to resume gas supplies to Ukraine.

The future?- What will happen next we cannot know. Recently the fighting has been less severe as it had been around May/June time. However the West and Russia must work together in order to solve the problem and I personally believe that earlier working together between the West and Russia after 1991 could have diverted the problem, (as suggested by notable critic of Putin Mikhail Gorbachev who has actually supported Putin). Although an issue over Crimean sovereignty may need to be addressed, especially with the Tatar population not being consulted about the referendum.

Thanks for reading and what is your views. If you live in Russia please tell me your view as living in the UK I've only seen a Western perspective and seeing a Russian perspective over the issue would be extremely beneficial. If you live in Ukraine also give me your opinion on the events that have transpired. Thanks and have a good day.

What If: The Gunpowder Plot had succeeded?

What if Fawkes had blown up Parliament?

On the 5th of November in Britain we celebrate Bonfire Night to mark the anniversary of how a group of conspirators lead by Robert Catesby tried to blow up the new King James I of England, (who was also James VI of Scotland), in Parliament. The demolition expert Guido Fawkes, (also called Guy Fawkes), placed one tonne of gunpowder under the House of Lords to blow up the King and Parliament. The 'Gunpowder Plotters' were Catholics and James I was a Protestant who was starting to become increasingly anti-Catholic so they believed that by assassinating him they could lead a Catholic rebellion and put his Catholic daughter Elizabeth on the throne. It failed and the plotters were executed. What if though Fawkes had succeeded?

Guy Fawkes; the infamous plotter

The Plot succeeds- Guy Fawkes was an explosives expert who had used gunpowder in the Spanish army who he had defected to years prior so he placed enough gunpowder in the rented under croft of the House of Lords for him to light a 15 minuted fuse, (giving him time to escape), to blow up the King and Parliament during the Opening of Parliament on October 5th 1605. The plague however caused the King to push back the Opening of Parliament to the following month. Fawkes had not expected this so had not gone to great lengths to properly protect the gunpowder from damp and when this happens the explosive powder reverts back to its original components. Thanks to this Catesby had to bring in another conspirator Francis Tresham to buy in more gunpowder. Tresham wasn't a good conspirator and warned his Catholic brother-in-law, Lord Monteagle, not to attend. Monteagle gave the letter to the King who had Fawkes arrested and his co-conspirators after their names had been tortured out of him. In this scenario the King doesn't put the Opening of Parliament back so the gunpowder doesn't start to deteriorate so there was no need to bring Tresham into the plot. The TV channel ITV did a documentary called The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding the Legend about how destructive the explosion would be and the nature of gunpowder makes it destructive. If I had a pile of gunpowder and set it on fire it wouldn't explode, only burn, but in a container the hear energy builds up until it explodes. The documentary shows that Fawkes used quite thick barrels and the House of Lords under croft had 2.1 m, (7 foot), thick concrete walls as well so there is a lot of stored energy. Well I think Alan Moore and David Lloyd in their graphic novel V for Vendetta summed the result up best...

I love that graphic novel

Although the clock tower wasn't built in 1605 but here's the explosion from the documentary.

Putting it bluntly the explosion would put Michael Bay to shame

Fawkes had detonated one tonne of gunpowder allowing for half of the gunpowder to explode and still be deadly. It was with everyone in the House of Lords being blown to smithereens. Not only would King James have died but also the Queen, the fourteen year old Prince Henry who was heir to the throne, the Archbishop of Canterbury, every Lord in England, almost every MP, (Member of Parliament), and even the famous Sir Francis Drake. The explosion would have been so huge that everyone in a 100 m, (330 ft), radius would have been killed. Being blunt it would be raining men all over London, (and a bit of a woman).

The Immediate Aftermath- By the time that the gunpowder had gone off Fawkes would be sailing out of the Thames to either France or Spain where he would be declared a hero but for reasons explained later he would never return to England. The conspirators would then go to the Midlands to kidnap Princess Elizabeth and possible even the young Prince Charles to put them on the throne but this would be impossible. The conspirators would have relied on a Catholic rebellion to do this but for three reasons it it would have been impossible. 1) Catholics comprised of only 5% of the population so obviously that would fail. 2) To organize a rebellion they needed to tell lots of people which would make them quickly found out so no one would know to revolt and 3) Catholics weren't interested in overthrowing James. He was well liked and wasn't as hard on them as his predecessor Elizabeth so the rebellion would have no support. News would reach quickly to the guardians of Charles and Elizabeth about the regicide so an armed guard would be ushered in to protect them and for Catesby to kidnap the two the modern day equivalent would be breaking into the Pentagon with a BB Gun, (or if you're a gamer playing Dark Souls blindfolded). In London the explosion would be heard and seen for miles around as well as blasting the glass out of every building nearby including shattering every window in Westminster Abby.

Like in this image Catholics wouldn't do too well if the plot succeeded

A short while after the blast- The London Mayor would quickly find out who rented the under croft and the conspirators would be revealed as Catholics. This would cause a wave of anti-Catholicism around not only England but also Scotland because James was also King of Scotland. Although Catholics in England, Scotland and Ireland were appalled by the actions of the plotters in our timeline, (and that of this alternate timeline), they would not be spared. All known Catholics would be beaten to death, their homes burnt and the 5% Catholic population would either be driven out of England or murdered. However Jews would also pay the price for this as well as any other non-Protestants or foreigners in England or Scotland as an angry hate filled mob wouldn't stop at just Catholics, throughout history if a small minority of an ethnic or religious group does something like this all others are relentlessly attacked. With most authority figures strewn across Westminster the number of Jews, Catholics and other minorities would seriously drop in England. Catseby and the conspirators would be arrested and hung, drawn and quartered which involves hanging someone half to death, cutting off their genitals and burning them before being beheaded and their body being chopped into four and burnt. This is what happened to Fawkes and the others in our timeline, (hence the burning of the Guy). Fawkes would have fled to Spain where he is hailed a hero for killing the English King, (Spain and England were bitter rivals), so with both countries distracted France will drastically change history, (I'll explain later). Charles would be declared King but his young age means that for his early reign there would be a Regency Council with some high ranking MPs who weren't blown up while as the anarchy dies down in England quick elections bring in new MPs.

What would the reign of Charles be like?

The Reign of King Charles- The Regency era would be less cultured. Shakespeare only wrote Macbeth to curry favor with King James so one of the most famous plays in the world would have never existed. James also wrote the Bible in English, hence why its called the King James Bible, where James changed the English language including how we structure sentences, when to use certain suffixes, not using thou and you when addressing someone to show power levels, (you was used of someone of low power talking to someone of high power and thou was talking to someone on the same power level or lower levels), and even using some punctuation like speech marks so our language would be drastically different. When Charles came to power he would have been a very different Charles to the one in our timeline. In our timeline he clashed often with his father James so in this alternate one he would have idolized his father's legacy. With Catholics killing his father and having a Protestant Regency he would have been severely anti-Catholic and would have done any attempts to challenge major Catholic rivals, namely France and Spain, and he would have made Scotland and England become more influenced in the 30 Years War leading to a greater defeat so he would have tried to regain prestige by expanding English colonies in the Americas by building up colonies in Canada, the Caribbean and the Southern US. In our timeline James got Charles to marry Henrietta of France but his Regency Council and later himself would get him to marry a Protestant such as a German or Danish Princess, (his mother was from Denmark). There would also be no English Civil War in this timeline.

You probably wouldn't have heard of Oliver Cromwell in this timeline

In our timeline Charles disagreed with his father over Parliament and his resentment towards his father made him favor the Divine Right of Kings, where he was chosen by God to rule the country and that he didn't need a Parliament. With no father to disagree with, (being a fortnight off his fifth birthday when James was blown up), and being raised to support Parliament he would never tried to dissolve Parliament so with him also granting Parliament more rights thanks to the Bishops' War, resulting in the same way as it did in our timeline, we would see a much more democratic Parliament than in our timeline by the end of the century. Oliver Cromwell who fought against the King in the Civil War and eventually executed the King could possibly be on the Regency Council but he wouldn't be a widely known as he is today. When Ireland revolts as it did in our timeline Charles would be much more virulent than Cromwell in crushing the Irish. Cromwell did many horrid things to Irish Catholics including slaughtering 800 civilians after the Battle of Drogheda because they happened to have weapons and later stripping Catholic landowners of their land, reducing Catholic landowners from 60% to just 8%, Charles would be much worse. He would have ruthlessly executed any Catholics whether they be man, woman and child and the Catholic landowners after the 1652 Act of Settlement for Ireland would be much lower. Irish nationalism would be even greater from now on thanks to this but a major Catholic diaspora would make a much more Protestant dominated Ireland. It is unlikely that Charles would put in place the same laws what Cromwell put in place like banning presents and Christmas, (I swear he was the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), he wouldn't try to make Scotland become part of England much more quicker and we would see an Act of Union much more sooner than 1707 like in our timeline.

A French USA?

Les etats-unis d'Amerique- When Charles dies and his son, Charles II but not our Charles II with his father marrying a Danish or German Princess and not a French one, there would be less Puritan migration to the English colonies and it would more resemble the migration of that of the French or Spanish colonies. With James dead and the country in disarray after the explosion the funds are not allocated to form a colony on the East coast of America. With Spain and England arguing over Fawkes France moves in and founds New Paris instead of a Jamestown. The French form the Thirteen Colonies instead while the English hurriedly colonize Canada and sites of the Mississippi. During Charles' War against the Irish many Catholics flee to the French colonies creating a large Irish population in the states. While France grows in power in the Americas and years later during the Seven Years War a unified Britain annexes Quebec. The loss of income makes the French monarchy impose taxes like the Stamp Tax on the French colonists they start to rebel. The British, who were building an empire in India, decide to help the revolutionaries, with a French George Washington, in a role reversal of our timeline bringing in Portugal to help. Britain's naval strength, (possible greater than our timeline so Britain would be less threatened by France), allows France to recognize the new Les etats-unis d'Amerique. However this almost bankrupts Britain but a more constitutional, democratic government compared to France and our own Britain at the time means that the rebels are granted more rights. Also industrialization with the growing industries of textiles and railroads means that Britain gets out of a slump quicker and starts trading with the new French USA who in our timeline became a quick economic power by even opening the Stock Exchange before 1800 so in this alternate timeline it is likely that the USA is still an economic power. However the loss of the USA ruins the French economy and a revolution with Napoleon still rising to power but the British would be stronger with its forces not directed to fight the War of 1812 against the US with both nations forming an alliance as brothers in arms. The US would purchase British colonies on the Mississippi, (unaffecting the British economy with them having cotton in India to replace the ones in America), and a French speaking America declares 'Manifest Destiny' as it spreads across the continent.

Conclusion- If Guy Fawkes had succeeded we would have a very different world with no English Civil War, a largely Protestant British Isles and French being the dominant language for the film industry. Guy Fawkes would likely die poor in Spain and never become the figure that he is associated with today. Moore and Lloyd wouldn't choose his face for V's in V for Vendetta being seen as a symbol of prejudice instead of martyrdom and Anonymous could have a very different mask as its symbol of unity.

Thanks for reading and please any comments or further suggestions.